Indiana volleyball’s historic season is not over yet. The No. 4-seeded Hoosiers defeated No. 5-seeded University of Colorado Boulder 3-0 in the NCAA Tournament second round Friday night at Wilkinson Hall in Bloomington.
Senior outside hitter Candela Alonso-Corcelles and freshman outside hitter Jaidyn Jager led the Hoosiers to victory. Alonso-Corcelles recorded 16 kills, while Jager recorded 15 kills.
Indiana got out to a slow start in the first set. It allowed Colorado to take a 6-2 advantage, but the Hoosiers continued to chip away at the Buffaloes' lead. The Hoosiers went on a 7-1 run later in the set to take a 13-11 lead, which caused the Buffaloes to call a timeout.
But even the timeout couldn’t slow down Indiana, as it continued to extend its lead out of the break. After the timeout, the Hoosiers went on a 6-2 run to extend their lead to six points.
After taking the six-point advantage, Indiana largely cruised to a 25-20 first-set win over Colorado. Alonso-Corcelles had seven kills in the set.
Indiana carried its first-set momentum into the second and scored the first two points off a service error from Colorado and a block from senior middle blocker Madi Sell and senior opposite hitter Avry Tatum. The Hoosiers took a 5-2 lead with another block — this time from Tatum and freshman middle blocker Victoria Gray — but Colorado managed to tie the set at six.
The Buffaloes took their first lead of the second set with a kill from junior pin hitter Ana Burilović, which put the score at 10-9. However, Indiana immediately scored three straight points to regain its lead. The Hoosiers took a 20-13 lead off a 6-1 run. Alonso-Corcelles played a part in five of the points during the 6-1 run.
The Hoosiers breezed past the Buffaloes, recording a 25-17 victory in the second set. Alonso-Corcelles and Jager led the Hoosiers in the second set, as they both recorded five kills.
The third set remained close between the Hoosiers and the Buffaloes, with both teams trading points deep into the set. Indiana stayed within two points of Colorado until a 5-1 run put the Buffaloes ahead 21-16. However, the Hoosiers rallied and went on a 7-1 run to take their first lead of the third set at 23-22.
From there, Colorado tied the set at 23, but Indiana took the final two points to seal its NCAA Tournament second round victory.
The Hoosiers will now play in the NCAA Tournament regional semifinal Dec. 11-12.
Follow reporters Savannah Slone (@savrivers06 and srslone@iu.edu) and Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana volleyball season.
